TELL ME A STORY
by bigdisneydreamer43
Summary: AU Emma/Hook. Emma is a feature writer in Boston who gets assigned to interview with Mr. Killian Jones, entrepreneur/billionaire. Turns out, her best friend Belle, is trying to set her up with the same guy. Losing herself through her writing, will Emma get her happy ending. TEST.


Emma Swan closed her laptop, with a satisfied smile. Another accomplished feature story. She swivelled on her chair, reaching across the office space to pick up her iPhone and turned off the music. She always got lost in her writing. Her very own escape from reality.

Emma bit her lip and looked at her calendar. Work has her busy but at the same time she something was missing. She sighed and looked at the picture frame on top of her desk, the photo in the frame was of her family; her dad, mom brother and herself, as happy as they could be- a mere fifteen years ago. Emma knew the truth though, "What a joke." Emma muttered.

There was a knock at the door, pulling her from her thoughts. Emma looked up through hooded eyes, still semi-conscious and saw her good friend, Belle French, who gave her a wide grin. "You ready to go, hun?"

Emma's blonde curls bounced as she attempted to become fully conscious to form words, nodding her head, "Yeah, Belle, just give me a second to pack up."

The end of the week was always the best. Since Saturdays and Sundays were her days off, Emma allowed herself to sit with a new book and cup of her favourite green tea. Emma smiled at the thought as she packed up her laptop and notepad. She needed both writing platforms since she was going to write more later that night.

She headed towards her friend who was standing at the door, flicked off the light and followed her out.

Inside the dark apartment, the faint sound of keys jingling was the only thing that could be heard. On the other side of the door, Emma slid the key into the slot and turned it to the right, unlocking the door. Opening the door and stepping through the threshold, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. _Well this is it._ Emma thought. _Another Friday night alone._

Setting her bag on the counter in the kitchen. She looked at the mail in her hand; determining all the letters were bills, she set them aside. Turning to the fridge, she opened the door and pulled out leftover chicken and rice that was made the night before. Placing the leftovers on the plate, she placed the food in the microwave to reheat it. Moving to the stereo, she plugged in her phone and suddenly the dark apartment became alive with music.

As Emma's hips started to sway, she found herself humming along to Disney music that was playing softly in the apartment. Emma drummed her fingers to the beat of the song while she danced gracefully like a princess. The sound of the microwave stopped Emma in her tracks, as she opened up the door and pulled out her heated food, Emma pulled a fork out and sat down at counter.

With music playing in the background, Emma let her mind drift. As she listened, she thought of how her life could of been. She was alone; she did live in a nice apartment and had a kick ass writing job at the top firm, yet every night she wished for something more.

 **Flashback**

She thought of how she could of had a Prince Charming to hold her and treat her life a Queen at that very moment. She never had that, not even growing up. Her dad die in her early years, causing her mom to become an alcoholic. because of this, social services placed her and her brother, Daniel, into the foster system, eventually separating them. Emma started writing to cope with her feelings. She wrote about anything and everything, just to escape her reality. Soon, she began imagining herself in place of these characters. Dreaming was one of her biggest pastimes. It helped when she was separated from her brother, it helped when her foster family didn't want her anymore, and it helped when she went away to college, alone.

She felt lost, too. Life didn't end up like she expected. As a successful 25 year old, you'd think she wouldn't have to escape to different worlds through her writing. She worked hard to get where she was; to escape her past, to prove to herself that she was worth something, to break the stereotype of children in the system.

 **End**

Emma felt a tear on her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her sleeve. Discarding the rest of her food, she placed the dish in the dishwasher. After cleaning the kitchen, she retreated to her loft; emptying the contents on the couch. She flipped open her laptop, opened a new document and started typing whatever came to her mind.

(Two in a million by S Club 7) _Once there was a girl, in love with a boy. Once there was a boy, in love with a girl. They were connected at the hip. So compatible. Two in a million, as they say. He would buy her flowers on his way home from work, when he knew she had a stressful day. He would hug her from behind and give her a big kiss on her cheek, letting her know it would be ok. She was truly treated like a Princess. They were inseparable. He was tall, charming. She was blond, athletically toned and beautiful. This was the girls happy ending, what she deserved._

Emma was woken up by her large snore. She had fallen asleep on the couch but she didn't mind, she enjoyed her daydreams or dreams she had while sleeping, they were the only thing, at the moment, that brought her joy. She smiled sweetly and closed her laptop. Turning to her left, she switched off the lamp, then walked into her own room and closed the door. In her bedroom, Emma took off her clothes and slipped on a nightshirt. She walked to her bed, turned down the sheets and settled into her king bed. Emma turned off the light, turning over in her bed and slipped off to la la land.

Emma awoke in her bed, and took a giant stretch across her large bed. She sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Like a zombie, she found her way to the kitchen, turned on the TV; switching to the news and turned on the kettle. She got her tea cup ready and put some bread in the toaster.

Determining that there was nothing interesting in the news, Emma let her eyes wander to the bookshelf that was placed in the corner of her living room. _What haven't I read in a while?_ Emma wandered. She scanned for a few seconds before picking a book and settling back to the couch, steaming cup of tea beside her. She started the first page of her book, sipping her tea and hummed in appreciation.

Time had passed quite a bit when Emma realized she had spent the entire day with her nose in a book. She blushed. Looking at the time, she realized she should probably eat something. She opened to the freezer and pulled out a frozen dinner, placed it in the microwave and hit high; heating up the food. Emma wandered around while she waited for her food, checking her phone out that was sitting at the counter. _3 missed calls from Belle. Guess I better call her._ Emma hit dial and called her best friend.

 _"_ _Hey Girl. Where are you?"_ Belle's voice could be heard on the phone. Emma smiled into the phone, "Just at home. You know same old, same old."

Emma could hear the drunk slurs on the other end of the phone, _"Emma, you should come out. Let loose for a night."_

"You sound pretty drunk, Belle," Emma chuckled at her friend, this was a typical Saturday night. She heard more noise on the other end, " _Yes, but I'm here with Henry and his friend who would love to meet you. He's really cute."_

Emma plays along. "Oh yeah? What is he like?"

Belle stutters out. _"Well… well he's tall, and extremely good looking… shit girl, if you don't come out here and claim him, I'll claim him myself."_

 _Emma_ laughs "Why don't you then?"

 _"_ _Well I have Henry. Now it's your turn. They're childhood friends! Isn't that cool! Come on Emma, live a little,"_ Emma could hear Belle laughing with someone on the other end.

"Nah, Belle, I'm good. Call me when you're home, you know how worried I get" Emma puts on her mom voice.

 _"_ _Yes, mom"_ Emma could feel the eye roll on the other side of the phone. "Belle….."

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah. I got it Emma. I will. I'll call when I get home. I remember the drill. You're missing out!"_ RUBY moans into the phone.

"I'll talk to you soon, Belle." Emma looks at her phone, shakes her head, then hangs up.

Suddenly, she remembers that she has forgotten the food in the microwave. Hurrying to the kitchen, she looks at her food and turns the timer back on. After the buzzer goes, she takes it out and frowns at the overcooked food.

Sitting down at her makeshift table, she turns on her music and puts her headphones in her ears.

(I can't help falling _in love with you) Suddenly she's at a pet shelter, holding her significant others hand. She's looking at the cute dogs the kennels and she hears him say "Pick anyone you want." She turns her face around and looks at her lover with a smile and kisses his lips. She turns back to the kennels to scan next few group of pets and she something or rather someone catches her eye. A big dopey eyed Bichon Shih Tzu staring right at her. She knew instantly that this dog was not only chosen by her but the dog also chose her. In her heart, she instantly fell in love. Vowing to never let go, she picked the pooch out of the cage, grinned widely and said "This one."_


End file.
